https://activerain.com/blogs/foreverrain300 en-us https://activerain.com/blogsview/5194521/real-estate-for-sale-in-montgomery--al Brenda McCann, An Agent That Cares in NE Florida (Coldwell Banker Premier Properties) Fri, 06 Apr 2018 08:56:54 -0700 https://activerain.com/blogsview/5194521/real-estate-for-sale-in-montgomery--al https://activerain.com/blogsview/5194497/are-withdrawn-listings-legitimate- There is a real estate practice that I have questions regarding. Are withdrawn listings legitimate? The usually situation where a listing becomes withdrawn is when your customer wants the listing removed for a short period of time. The customer wants to do some repairs or improvements to increase the likelihood of a beneficial sale. A situation that can occur when the customer requests a withdrawal could be if they become ill. There are many reasons a customer may want their listing withdrawn.  Don't confuse withdrawn with the real estate agent being fired. The rule is that if I am marketing to expired listings, I cannot market to a listing that is withdrawn before it becomes expired. That is definitely a big NO. If the listing becomes expired without a current withdrawn history, I can market to that homeowner. If the listing becomes withdrawn and then the expired date occurs, you then need to contact the listing agent to see if their contract is over.  I have called and left messages with a few real estate agents asking if they still have an agreement with the homeowner. They never call me back. I was informed in a GRI course that if you are not called back then go ahead and market. Here is where it is a questionable situation. A few agents, I have noticed, withdraw a listing a week or so before the listing is expired (expires 6 months, 9 months, 12 months, etc). Are they doing this at the request of the homeowner? Or, are they doing it so they have time to extend the agreement and don't want their customer contacted? If it is the later, is this a good practice? Would this be beneficial to the homeowner? The only scenario where this would be beneficial to the homeowner is if the withdrawal was at the request of the homeowner. How do we know it was the homeowner's request? Some states may have a form that the homeowner signs to show that they requested the listing be withdrawn. If there isn't a form then it is a verbal request.  I believe that when the usually agents, time after time, show the listing as withdrawn a week or so before a listing is expired may not be doing this at the request of the homeowner. The homeowner may not even know that their listing is withdrawn. If this is the case, is it the best practice? Brenda McCann, An Agent That Cares in NE Florida (Coldwell Banker Premier Properties) Fri, 06 Apr 2018 08:10:31 -0700 https://activerain.com/blogsview/5194497/are-withdrawn-listings-legitimate- https://activerain.com/blogsview/5085557/life-as-a-new-real-estate-agent You have your license now.  Do you know where to hang it?     Determine where you willing to drive everyday.  You want a base close to where you live.  Certainly, you will likely show houses a greater distance from the base but not everyday.       Find out what the office fees are.  It can range from a little to a lot. Hidden fees are ridiculous.  If fees are hidden, what else are they hiding from you?  They must be upfront regarding all charges.     Find out the commission structure.     Talk to other people who work there or used to work there.     Find out what the rules are.  For example, when can you get on the 'sales' or transaction floor to receive incoming real estate inquiries.       Know what is expected from you. For example, will you be fired if you don't have a set number of transactions in a fixed number of days.  Open Houses - Do they help a new agent get business?      When you are new, You really work hard to get business.  Some lisiting agents don't attend their own Open House but allow new people to hold it for them.  They say that if a walk-in is interested, that person is your client.  The problem I have seen is that the Open Houses are not well attended.  The new agent doesn't do the marketing but relies on the lisiting agent to market it.  It is afterall, the listing agent's responsibility.  They might not put a lot of their efforts into marketing the property.  They will be able to tell the owners that they had an Open House which makes the owners feel good that the listing agent is working for them.  No one shows up or very few show up, don't communicate and leave quickly.  New agents, like myself, held numerous Open Houses with negative results.  I propose a question to the reader, what is your opinion if the new agent were to charge the listing agent to hold the Open House for them?      Charge a fee to hold the Open House.  If any Open House ends up in a sale for the new agent, the new agent will refund the Open House fee that they charged.  Is this going on anywhere?       Here are some of the elements of an Open House that the new agent may encounter which, in my opinion, would justify a fee;  The new agent is at the Open House for 3 or more hours at a time (commited to staying there),  The property might be devoid of furniture so you have to bring a chair,  The electricity and/or water may be turned off (forget about going to the toilet), No internet connection to do any work,  No one shows up to the Open House, The new agent is freeing up the lisiting agent's time so the listing agent can be productive, The listing agent is getting the credit from the owners as having done work for them so the owners tell other people about the great work the listing agent provided to them, and No credit or acknowledgement to the new agent. Brenda McCann, An Agent That Cares in NE Florida (Coldwell Banker Premier Properties) Fri, 14 Jul 2017 08:53:51 -0700 https://activerain.com/blogsview/5085557/life-as-a-new-real-estate-agent https://activerain.com/blogsview/5082190/best-practices-in-real-estate "Best Practices" to me means how we deal with the public. In the real estate profession we receive ongoing training regarding the fuctions of the real estate transaction.  The Problem, as I see it, is that we as real estate agents have no course available that offers training on dealing with the public on a personal basis.  The closest thing to this is a class on marketing to the public.  In that class, you learn to approach people and ask them if they have a real estate agent or, if not, would they consider using you to help them in purchasing or selling real estate?  This approach sounds too much like a marketing tactic, and as if you want the individual's business with no intention to get to know them. I realize that people who teach marketing are wealthy and got there through the processes that they teach.  Do the trainers deal with the client as an individual that needs attention?  I didn't get that vibe.  As a marketer, you're dealing with numbers; as a real estate agent, you're dealing directly with the people that represent those numbers.Something much more needs to be added to marketing and to ongoing classes that are offered through organizations and/or required courses. My solution to fill this training gap: ACTIVE LISTENING. We have to pay more attention to the client and to support the person throughout the whole process.  Moving is one of the major stressors of life.  It is in the top 5 stressors along with death, divorce, marriage and having a child.  What concerns me is how to service my client to the best of my ability. I want to...- actively listen to their needs so I can act in a timely manner on feedback.- provide constant communication, keeping them informed when we encounter roadblocks and delays. - put forth a positive attitude at all times.  - teach the client what each paper in the transaction paperwork means.  For example, a TIL (Truth in Lending) is not explained adequately at the closing. A real estate agent needs to obtain all of the closing documents 5 days or more in advance of the closing, even if they are blank.  Once the final documents are filled in, they will know what the form means and now they have numbers in it.  It is the real estate agent's responsibility to take care of the client. Remember: "My attitude will influence the client's attitude." The best realtors I know are friendly and upbeat.  You would never know if they were having a bad day or their dog just died - They were that good.  When I was their client, I believed that I was #1 to them.  They treat their clients like they are #1 to them. My goal for best practices is to treat every client as my #1 priority. What's yours? Brenda McCann, An Agent That Cares in NE Florida (Coldwell Banker Premier Properties) Sun, 09 Jul 2017 12:02:34 -0700 https://activerain.com/blogsview/5082190/best-practices-in-real-estate